Being a millennial, I have heard it all; from how difficult we are to sell to, work with, and understand.
We get it, we are a very specific group who are requiring you to rethink and evolve the way you have done things; but is that really a bad thing? Yes, we grew up with internet and most of us had a phone before we were a legal adult but let’s be fair here, our generation didn’t invent those things. Most of my friends would agree, we wished we could go back to a time where things were not so readily available to us.
“Millennials are 49% more willing to digitally “detox” while on vacation then their Gen X counterparts.”
Keeping on the trend of de-bunking stereotypes, we are also always said to be self-centered, which I not only personally hate but also still not completely sure of how we got that classification. Nonetheless, we are one the of most charitable generations in history:
“85% of millennials make annual charitable donations and 70% volunteer their time to causes they care most about…”
Are you asking yourself why I am giving you these facts? I hope so!
When I started my professional career, an association was the last thing on my mind and it was also something I really had no idea about. I had a few associations reach out to me but I kept wondering how an association could benefit me or what in general it was for:
Before I had time to get an answer on the above, they would get to the price and without hesitation I would say “Nope!” Thinking to myself ‘Don’t they get I’m freshly out of college on a barely there salary?! Where do they think I am going to find that kinda dough?!’
Fast forward a few years and I found myself a job where they decided to sign me up for an ASAE membership, and so began my educational journey into this very fascinating industry. While it wasn’t much exposure, it was enough for me to not only see value but it also became a cause for which I began to care. You know what I did next? I joined NAPW and on my own dollar…
Fast forward to today, and I am not only working at a company who focuses only on associations but also a huge advocate!
Now, I understand the journey above is not a normal one when becoming a member, however, there are pieces of my journey we can learn from:
Again, we won’t be an easy generation to pin down but it is possible. Unfortunately, we not only have grown up in a different time which has influenced how we buy but we also have many obstacles standing in our way financially.
In my opinion though, we’ll be the best members you’ve had yet if we could work out that payment thing…